Mike Beckstead
@mikebeckstead.bsky.social
Neurophysiologist, hiker, dad. Former Clevelander now seeking fulfillment in places with more Vitamin D. Views are my own.
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Honored to be elected to serve as the next vice co-chair, along with the amazing @sciolinolab.bsky.social, for the Catecholamines Gordon Research Conference. I first came to this meeting in 2011 as a grad student and it was transformative for my career. Excited to help cultivate that for others.
August 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Honored to be elected to serve as the next vice co-chair, along with the amazing @sciolinolab.bsky.social, for the Catecholamines Gordon Research Conference. I first came to this meeting in 2011 as a grad student and it was transformative for my career. Excited to help cultivate that for others.
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Ever wonder how stress and the estrous cycle affects reward learning? Well we have answers for you in our paper led by @askaneuroscientist.bsky.social published in
@npp-journal.bsky.social
And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
@npp-journal.bsky.social
And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
Estrous cycle stage gates the effect of stress on reward learning
Neuropsychopharmacology - Estrous cycle stage gates the effect of stress on reward learning
nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
July 16, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Ever wonder how stress and the estrous cycle affects reward learning? Well we have answers for you in our paper led by @askaneuroscientist.bsky.social published in
@npp-journal.bsky.social
And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
@npp-journal.bsky.social
And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
New work from my lab looking at how dopamine neurons are affected by stress and males and females! This paper comes to you through three rounds of major building construction, a pandemic, six months that we could not get TTX, some animal facility shenanigans and now is here on your internet!
Sex‐Specific Adaptations to VTA Circuits Following Subchronic Stress
Subchronic variable stress, a paradigm shown to have divergent behavioral effects in males and females, induces shared and distinct physiological adaptations in the VTA. While both males and females ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 12, 2025 at 3:34 PM
New work from my lab looking at how dopamine neurons are affected by stress and males and females! This paper comes to you through three rounds of major building construction, a pandemic, six months that we could not get TTX, some animal facility shenanigans and now is here on your internet!
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
This is absolute bullshit. Michael is one of the most creative scientists I've ever met, exactly the type of work the country should be investing in
Yesterday, the NIH R35 “Outstanding Investigator” grant to fund scientists in my lab studying antibiotic resistance was terminated for reasons not related to the content of the science, or any actions taken by me or members of my lab
May 14, 2025 at 1:12 AM
This is absolute bullshit. Michael is one of the most creative scientists I've ever met, exactly the type of work the country should be investing in
Congrats @harrisedwardb.bsky.social on your defense/graduation! The journey has been a lot of fun, and save those ‘extra letters’ because you’ll need them for what happens next!
Five years ago, I joined @mikebeckstead.bsky.social’s lab as a wide-eyed, clueless 22-year-old. Yesterday, I closed my doctoral chapter with even wider eyes, more questions than answers, and a few extra letters behind my name.
May 12, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Congrats @harrisedwardb.bsky.social on your defense/graduation! The journey has been a lot of fun, and save those ‘extra letters’ because you’ll need them for what happens next!
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Incredible friend, peer mentor, adventurous collaborator (patcher of “bricks”), and now DR. Blankenship @harrisedwardb.bsky.social defended the most brilliant dissertation yesterday.
April 29, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Incredible friend, peer mentor, adventurous collaborator (patcher of “bricks”), and now DR. Blankenship @harrisedwardb.bsky.social defended the most brilliant dissertation yesterday.
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Top line P3 data for Orforglipron the once daily oral GLP-1 medicine in PPL with #T2D investor.lilly.com/news-release...
April 17, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Top line P3 data for Orforglipron the once daily oral GLP-1 medicine in PPL with #T2D investor.lilly.com/news-release...
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
So proud of our new work comparing opioid self-administration between old (24 mo!) and young mice. We found that the old mice learned self-administration faster and took more remifentanil than the young mice. Great job team!
@mikebeckstead.bsky.social
@laciiiiiiiiiiii.bsky.social
bit.ly/3G7lJE7
@mikebeckstead.bsky.social
@laciiiiiiiiiiii.bsky.social
bit.ly/3G7lJE7
April 16, 2025 at 3:18 PM
So proud of our new work comparing opioid self-administration between old (24 mo!) and young mice. We found that the old mice learned self-administration faster and took more remifentanil than the young mice. Great job team!
@mikebeckstead.bsky.social
@laciiiiiiiiiiii.bsky.social
bit.ly/3G7lJE7
@mikebeckstead.bsky.social
@laciiiiiiiiiiii.bsky.social
bit.ly/3G7lJE7
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.
April 15, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Excited to see this NIDA supported work from lab PhD student Kasey Brida officially published! Kasey identified a marker of neurons that are responsive to the psychostimulant drug cocaine, and discovered that this marker is essential for cocaine reward.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reelin marks cocaine-activated striatal neurons, promotes neuronal excitability, and regulates cocaine reward
Reelin is a critical mechanistic link between neuronal activation and cocaine-induced behavioral adaptations.
www.science.org
March 27, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Excited to see this NIDA supported work from lab PhD student Kasey Brida officially published! Kasey identified a marker of neurons that are responsive to the psychostimulant drug cocaine, and discovered that this marker is essential for cocaine reward.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Why does obesity change the pleasure of eating, the dopamine rush from hedonic foods? A neural circuit mechanism involving explanation
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Changes in neurotensin signalling drive hedonic devaluation in obesity - Nature
In mice, prolonged consumption of a high-fat diet decreases interest in calorie-rich foods as a result of reduced neurotensin expression and signalling, which uncouples hedonic feeding behaviour linke...
www.nature.com
March 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Why does obesity change the pleasure of eating, the dopamine rush from hedonic foods? A neural circuit mechanism involving explanation
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
just learned that one of my former trainees had her grant terminated at Columbia. I am sick...
March 12, 2025 at 1:53 PM
just learned that one of my former trainees had her grant terminated at Columbia. I am sick...
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
New Pre-Print led by @emilyprevost.bsky.social Glutamate-dopamine, nonglu-dopamine, and glu-only neurons and neurotransmitters they use have dissociable contributions to motivated behavior. Important to segregate DA subcell-types to better understand the many motivation-related functions of DA
New preprint! We untangle glutamatergic and dopaminergic subpopulations in the ventral tegmental area. Long thread incoming, buckle up friends. 1/n
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Untangling dopamine and glutamate in the ventral tegmental area
Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons are of great interest for their central roles in motivation, learning, and psychiatric disorders. While hypotheses of VTA dopamine neuron function posit a...
www.biorxiv.org
February 27, 2025 at 7:52 PM
New Pre-Print led by @emilyprevost.bsky.social Glutamate-dopamine, nonglu-dopamine, and glu-only neurons and neurotransmitters they use have dissociable contributions to motivated behavior. Important to segregate DA subcell-types to better understand the many motivation-related functions of DA
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
🚨📃New Wassum Lab Paper📃🚨
Out today, @jackiegio.bsky.social discovered brain pathways that support agency and habit and how chronic stress disrupts them to rob of us our agency and cause us to form rigid habits 🧵👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Free full text: rdcu.be/eaxEv
Out today, @jackiegio.bsky.social discovered brain pathways that support agency and habit and how chronic stress disrupts them to rob of us our agency and cause us to form rigid habits 🧵👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Free full text: rdcu.be/eaxEv
A dual-pathway architecture for stress to disrupt agency and promote habit - Nature
Adaptive decision-making often requires an understanding of our agency in a situation; however, chronic stress can disrupt agency and promote inflexible, habitual behaviour by turning off a brain path...
www.nature.com
February 19, 2025 at 11:37 PM
🚨📃New Wassum Lab Paper📃🚨
Out today, @jackiegio.bsky.social discovered brain pathways that support agency and habit and how chronic stress disrupts them to rob of us our agency and cause us to form rigid habits 🧵👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Free full text: rdcu.be/eaxEv
Out today, @jackiegio.bsky.social discovered brain pathways that support agency and habit and how chronic stress disrupts them to rob of us our agency and cause us to form rigid habits 🧵👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Free full text: rdcu.be/eaxEv
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
MCNP study section cancelled the day before it was supposed to meet, with no future date set or suggested. What a fucking disaster.
February 18, 2025 at 8:36 PM
MCNP study section cancelled the day before it was supposed to meet, with no future date set or suggested. What a fucking disaster.
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
The locus coeruleus is located in the brainstem and is among the first regions in the human 🧠 to acquire pathology in Alzheimer's disease. Loss of neurons in the locus coeruleus is directly linked to cognitive decline. 🟢TH labels noradrenergic neurons; 🟣 pTau labels neurofibrillary tangles 🔬👩🔬🧪
February 12, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The locus coeruleus is located in the brainstem and is among the first regions in the human 🧠 to acquire pathology in Alzheimer's disease. Loss of neurons in the locus coeruleus is directly linked to cognitive decline. 🟢TH labels noradrenergic neurons; 🟣 pTau labels neurofibrillary tangles 🔬👩🔬🧪
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
An excellent story on Suzetrigine, which I guess we have to start calling Journavx, in Biopharma Dive with a few quotes from me: www.biopharmadive.com/news/pain-dr... but this is my favorite point of the article, from the CEO of Vertex:
A new, non-opioid pain drug is here. Getting it to patients could be agony.
After decades of research, Vertex Pharmaceuticals now has an approved pain medication. Can one of the world’s most powerful biotechs contend with a healthcare system that’s long favored opioids?
www.biopharmadive.com
January 31, 2025 at 6:37 PM
An excellent story on Suzetrigine, which I guess we have to start calling Journavx, in Biopharma Dive with a few quotes from me: www.biopharmadive.com/news/pain-dr... but this is my favorite point of the article, from the CEO of Vertex:
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Are you using 5xFAD mice to study Alzheimer’s disease? Our work out today @cp-neuron.bsky.social may be relevant to you 🐁🧠 Age and sex are known to influence Aβ plaque burden in these mice. Here, we found that the transgene parentage is another strong determinant.
Thread below: (1/11)
Thread below: (1/11)
Parental origin of transgene modulates amyloid-β plaque burden in the 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease
The 5xFAD transgenic model, popular in Alzheimer’s disease research, exhibits varying
cerebral plaque burden depending on the parental source of the transgene. Mice inheriting
the transgene paternally...
www.cell.com
January 20, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Are you using 5xFAD mice to study Alzheimer’s disease? Our work out today @cp-neuron.bsky.social may be relevant to you 🐁🧠 Age and sex are known to influence Aβ plaque burden in these mice. Here, we found that the transgene parentage is another strong determinant.
Thread below: (1/11)
Thread below: (1/11)
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
🚨SAVE THE DATE‼️
Happy to announce that #DopamineMeeting2026 will be held in
S E V I L L A🧠.
May, 17-21, 2026
Happy to announce that #DopamineMeeting2026 will be held in
S E V I L L A🧠.
May, 17-21, 2026
November 21, 2024 at 4:47 PM
🚨SAVE THE DATE‼️
Happy to announce that #DopamineMeeting2026 will be held in
S E V I L L A🧠.
May, 17-21, 2026
Happy to announce that #DopamineMeeting2026 will be held in
S E V I L L A🧠.
May, 17-21, 2026
Whew! What started in August with first draft Aims pages ended today with two trainees (Laci and William) submitting their F grants, both A0s and with me away at ACNP so I couldn’t help much with the final push. I’m not sure if either is on Bsky yet but great job & drinks are on me when I get back!
December 9, 2024 at 11:41 PM
Whew! What started in August with first draft Aims pages ended today with two trainees (Laci and William) submitting their F grants, both A0s and with me away at ACNP so I couldn’t help much with the final push. I’m not sure if either is on Bsky yet but great job & drinks are on me when I get back!
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Excited to see this review manuscript from lab MD/PhD student Dalton Fitzgerald officially out in Addiction Neuroscience!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Neuronal heterogeneity in the ventral tegmental area: distinct contributions to reward circuitry and motivated behavior
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a critical component of brain reward circuitry that influences motivation, learning, and emotional regulation. Alt…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 29, 2024 at 4:07 PM
Excited to see this review manuscript from lab MD/PhD student Dalton Fitzgerald officially out in Addiction Neuroscience!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
One of the cats was pukey yesterday so my wife spread out the blankets to protect the couch. But every time we do this they self-segregate by color as if they think "well gee, this must be my new designated area." 🤣
November 27, 2024 at 8:38 PM
One of the cats was pukey yesterday so my wife spread out the blankets to protect the couch. But every time we do this they self-segregate by color as if they think "well gee, this must be my new designated area." 🤣
Reposted by Mike Beckstead
Check out this cool write up of our new Neurobiology of Aging paper! Fun collaboration with @eaproctor.bsky.social
studyfinds.org/binge-drinki...
You can read the paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(This is also how I learned my dad has a Google Alert set up for my name 😂)
studyfinds.org/binge-drinki...
You can read the paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(This is also how I learned my dad has a Google Alert set up for my name 😂)
Binge drinking rewires the brain, increases Alzheimer's risk even if you quit
Too much heavy drinking during your college years can have a lasting and devastating impact on the neurons in your brain, even if you stop drinking after this period of your life.
studyfinds.org
November 19, 2024 at 1:17 PM
Check out this cool write up of our new Neurobiology of Aging paper! Fun collaboration with @eaproctor.bsky.social
studyfinds.org/binge-drinki...
You can read the paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(This is also how I learned my dad has a Google Alert set up for my name 😂)
studyfinds.org/binge-drinki...
You can read the paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(This is also how I learned my dad has a Google Alert set up for my name 😂)